Recipe: Chocolate cream pie

Posted on March 20, 2020 by seriouslyseekinganswers

The only healthy eating plan I have any hope of sticking with needs to include an occasional treat. This is especially true now that my husband and I are hunkered down in our house for who knows how long and every fiber of my being is screaming, “Comfort food! Now!”

This recipe for no-bake chocolate cream pie is so-o-o easy to prepare. And I’ve used some fat-free and sugar-free ingredients to make the dessert a little bit easier on the waistline while the protein content actually adds nutritional value – not just empty calories.

Ingredients

8-inch pre-made graham cracker pie crust or pre-made Oreo pie crust
2 8-ounce packages fat-free cream cheese
Large package (2.1 ounce) instant sugar-free chocolate pudding mix
1½ cups fat-free (skim) milk
1 8-ounce tub sugar-free whipped topping

Directions

Combine pudding mix with milk and whisk until well blended and smooth.

Add 1 cup of the whipped topping to the pudding mixture and stir until blended.

Place cream cheese in microwave-safe bowl and soften in microwave oven until easily stirred (about 30 seconds to 1 minute). Whisk cream cheese until all is softened. Add to the pudding and whipped cream mixture and whisk until blended.

Continue to blend mixture in a food processor, or with immersion hand blender, until completely smooth.

Spoon mixture evenly into pie crust and place in freezer for up to an hour until mixture is firm.

Spread remaining whipped topping evenly over the top of the pie.

Refrigerate the pie for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight. Refrigerating overnight will make the pie firmer and easier to slice.

Nutrition information

Recipe: Vegetable beef barley soup

Posted on February 28, 2020 by seriouslyseekinganswers

Note: This is my original recipe, which I used for years. A newer version which eliminates most of the sodium content and adds some spice is posted on March 28, 2025.

One of my best-loved comfort foods is homemade soup, and vegetable beef barley is one of my favorites.

As I almost always do with home-cooked meals, I’ve tweaked the traditional recipe to make it healthier. I leave out the teaspoon or so of salt the recipe usually calls for, use reduced-sodium broth and no-added-salt tomatoes, and substitute a bit more spice to retain flavor. I also cut the amount of meat in half to lower both the calorie count and the cholesterol/saturated fat levels and double the veggies. The result is nutritious as well as delicious.

The soup is super easy to make. As a bonus, it freezes well, and therefore lends itself to batch cooking. This recipe makes approximately 10 one-cup servings.

Ingredients

1 pound lean beef, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
32-ounce carton reduced-sodium beef broth
3-4 cups water
28-ounce can no-added-salt diced tomatoes
6 carrots, peeled and sliced
6 stalks celery, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup barley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2-3 small bay leaves

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and allow to simmer for 1½ to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat, barley and vegetables are tender. If the soup begins to get too thick, add a cup or two of water.

Enjoy!

Nutrition information

Recipe: Reduced-fat dips

Posted on January 24, 2020 by seriouslyseekinganswers

I’ll confess: Sometimes I give in to that irresistible urge to nibble between meals. And I’ve found that having fresh cut veggies in the refrigerator – celery, carrot or zucchini sticks, cauliflower and broccoli florets or mushrooms – reduces the chance that I’ll snack on junk.

Alas, raw veggies tend to taste much better with dip, which itself can add too many calories if I’m not careful. So I’ve created some dips that make the crudities more appealing while reducing the guilt factor.

These dips also work well on baked potatoes as a replacement for butter or margarine.

The secret is a “base” that cuts out the fat without sacrificing flavor. I use the base to create a variety of delicious dips. Here I’ve included directions for making blue cheese dip and feta cheese dip.

Dip Base

The following recipe makes approximately 2 cups of the “dip base,” which lasts up to 10 days in the refrigerator.

Ingredients for dip base

1 8-oz. package fat-free cream cheese

1 5.3 oz. individual size container non-fat plain Greek yogurt

1 cup fat-free mayonnaise

Directions

Soften cream cheese in the microwave for about 30 seconds to one minute until softened and easily stirred. Add yogurt and blend until smooth. Then add mayonnaise and blend until smooth. I use a hand-held “stick” blender when making the base to achieve the smoothness I desire.

Nutrition info for dip base

Blue cheese crumbles and feta cheese crumbles both come in reduced-fat varieties, and make delicious dips when added to the above base.

When blending in the additional ingredients, I recommend stirring them in by hand rather than using a blender or food processor because I like preserving the original consistency of the crumbles.

Blue Cheese Dip

Mix together equal parts dip base and reduced-fat blue cheese crumbles and stir until well-blended. For example, I might mix together ¼ cup of the base with ¼ cup blue cheese crumbles, reserving the rest of the base for another use.

Nutrition info for blue cheese dip

Feta Cheese Dip

Mix together equal parts dip base and feta cheese crumbles. Finely chop 3-4 slices of pickled jalapeno pepper and add to the mixture. Stir until well-blended.

Nutrition info for feta cheese dip